The Caged Tiger
by Ying'zi
Summary: In Tokyo, Japan's most wanted assasin: 'Tora' is given the assignment that will change her life forever. FINALLY UPDATED/EDITED!~ (yeah)
1. Prolouge

{Disclaimer: I'm going to make this plain and simple: Ranma ½ always have and always will belong to Rumiko Takahashi. ta da!}  
  
The Caged Tiger  
  
Prologue:  
  
God damn the world. I'm stuck here in the middle of a freezing road and the fucking bastard won't show up. "I'll kill him, I'll first rip off a few of his appendages then slowly tear away the." I continued on muttering to myself, as I shot cold glares at the passerbyers who seemed a little, too curious. "Screw this," I said as I turned around and suddenly there standing in my way was a tall slightly lanky man.  
  
"You're late," I told him as my fingers tightened in anger. "I would advice little tiger that you do not do anything foolish, especially here in the public, you don't know what my employer might do," he said, his deep voice breaking through my thoughts.  
  
"What do you want?" I asked angrily as I tightened my fingers around the handle of the gun in my pocket. The man just stared down at me, God. how much I wished I could wring his neck right then. Then, finally he laughed as he smiled unnervingly and said smoothly, "Guess." "I don't have time to waste right now Yasuo, tell me what you want," I demanded as my finger unconsciously found its way to the trigger. His tone became serious and business like as he pulled out a large manila folder and handed it to me.  
  
"The boss wants you to track this man down, and finish him off before next Friday, got it?" he asked as he thrusted the folders toward me. I snatched them and quickly turned around as I made my way through the thin layer of snow.  
  
I tucked the folder in to the safety of the inner pocket in my long black coat. I was too damn cold to be curious and the only place I wished to be right then was to be at home. And that was farther away than I would have liked it to be.  
  
I quickly hailed a cab and entered into the small stuffy car. I ignored the vague odor of cigarettes and air fresheners as I placed my attention on the little warmth I was receiving through the tiny slots of the heater.  
  
"Take me to the Shinjuku-ku, Acacia apartments and make it quick," I snapped at the driver. He grunted in reply as he revved the engines and made his way into the busy streets of Tokyo, Japan.  
  
Oh yes, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Akane Tendo, or other wise known as Tora the most infamous assassin in Japan.  
  
A/N Hey! Me again, well I'm actually finding myself wanting to write more and more each day. so instead of doing my summer homework. here I am. writing fan fictions. or actually just editing them. I had my sister look over these and we both found some major mistakes. and poor wording. blech. well any who, thanks for waiting (if you are) and hope you can enjoy this as much as I am. Much love!~ 


	2. Arrival: Ch 1

Disclaimer: Yup. I do not own Ranma ½ or any of those loooooovely characters. too bad, though.  
  
The Caged Tiger  
Chapter 1:  
  
After returning to her small apartment Akane instantly went for the kitchen as she quickly poured a large mug of green tea and swallowed it whole. The steaming drink filled her veins with liquid fire as she thought, "Mmm. tea. better than coffee, more caffeine (a God given gift) and doesn't stain your teeth." Taking another cup, she reached for the envelope, which she had unregardlessly placed in her over coat pocket and tossed onto the coffee table behind her.  
  
She glanced down at the sheets of scattered paper on her coffee table as she wondered curiously how this single man could've pissed Kisho* off so much that he wanted him dead. Mumbling to herself, Akane dug through the rest of the papers to find the pictures of her target. Stopping at the feel of glossy paper on her fingers, she grabbed them out from the pile. Squinting she stared hard at the blurry pictures, trying to see the image. But to her displeasure, all she was able to make out was a dark blur. "Damn, if they're going to hire me to kill someone, they should at least give me decent photos to recognize him by," she muttered to herself as she flipped through the pictures.  
  
Suddenly, she stopped at a flash of blue as she grabbed the picture once more to find herself staring into a pair of dark sapphire eyes. "A heartbreaker for sure," she thought aloud. The picture was small but clear, and appeared to be an ID photo. With dark blue eyes, strong sculpted face, and thick black hair, her prey was an eye full. "So that is what you look like Mr. Saotome," Akane asked the small photograph, "Well, it'll be a pleasure hunting you."  
  
With a feral grin, she stuffed the picture into her back pocket as she ran to her room to start packing. "Good thing all my employers pay for me, or I'd be penniless by now," she thought to herself. Quickly packing her need material and clothing into the suitcase, she neatly piled the files and information into a folder, which she promptly stuffed into her messenger bag tossed over her shoulder. Glancing at her clock she saw that she had only 2 hours left till lift off. Groaning, she shouldered her pack and grabbed her suitcase as she rushed out the door.  
  
Somehow after getting past the midday rush in a cab no less, she made it to the airport in time (only God knows how). Pushing past the tourist and businessmen she found herself being seated into the first class section of the plane.  
  
With a cup of tea on one hand and in the other the file, she felt content as ever. Akane smiled, as she leaned back against the seat and closed her eyes. These were the times normal people took for granted, when they could just relax and let time flow past them freely. Placing the files on the small table before, she pulled down the privacy curtain and went to sleep.  
  
A little girl, barely older than 6 panted as she looked around, her face etched in fear. "Okaa-san! Okaa-san! Where are you?" she cried out as she tried to wipe away the tears flowing freely down her face, but failed and left a dark smudge of dirt while trying. "Okaa-san?" she asked once more into the trees. There was no reply. Tears began to fall once more, as the little girl cried silently. "Hey. whatcha doing over here?" a small voice asked. The little looked up as she stared up into a pair of small blue eyes. "You know, my old man said that crying is for weaklings," the voice continued. The small girl puffed up in anger as she stood up to her full size (which wasn't much) as she retorted back, "I'm not a weakling!" The little boy raised an eyebrow in disbelief as he placed his small fists on his waist and answer, "Well don't be crying like a sissy."  
A look of pure fury washed over the girl as she lifted an arm to hit him, but stopped as he laughed and offered a hand, "C'mon, you can come with me." Surprised, the girl only stared than smiled as she took the offered hand and follow him. "My name's Akane, what's yours?" she asked. The boy laughed as he replied, "My name's-  
  
"Ma'm? Ma'm, please wake up, we're almost at San Francisco," a petite airline attendant said as she lightly shook Akane awake. Akane scowled as she shook off the girl and answered gruffly, "I'm awake already, you can stop shaking me." The girl must have been used to such rude responses, ignored it and continued, "Please re-buckle your safety belt, we shall be landing in less than an hour." Sending the girl one last glare, Akane clicked the small buckle tightly as she rubbed her temples trying to wipe away the strange nostalgic dream from her head.  
  
Checking her tea, she saw that it had grown cold. Shaking her head, she settled back into her seat, making herself comfortable as possible. Blinking, she checked her watch and grumbled. It was around 1 a.m. on her watch making it around 10 p.m. in San Francisco. At least she would get some more sleep when she got there.  
  
Yawning, Akane stretched as she felt the plane start to tilt. Looking out the window she smiled as she gazed down at the large city of San Francisco "The pictures don't do you justice," she commented softly.  
  
A few minutes later the plane landed and Akane was on the ground, past the security guards and in front of the Hotel Palomar. Rubbing her drowsy eyes, she easily got one of the best rooms in the hotel. Tired and slightly ruffled from the flight, Akane fell back asleep.  
  
A/N: Another editing done, and I just hope I got everything right. I really suck at editing my own work. I'm also very sorry for one very big mistake. Hotel Palomar is actually in San Francisco. so it's a change of scene for this fan fiction. I'm VERY sorry for that very obvious mistake. . But this mistake actually is a lot easier to use, cause well. it's easier to get information about our beautiful San Fran and also it's a lot closer to where I live than L.A. is. 


End file.
